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Marketing
The external factors which influence consumer behavior are referred to as culture. For any marketing strategy culture and subculture are vital considerations. Subculture involves factors such as morals, custom, belief, and other capabilities that a person acquires as a member of society. A subculture is any form of pattern that preserves a dominant society’s important features but provides norms, behaviors and, values of its own. Professional marketers employ the concept of consumer classification based on subcultures so as determine the services or goods that their customers need. Nearly all the regions of the world are composed of subcultures. It is therefore an essential thing for all marketers to consider. Ethnicity of one of the subcultures that marketers consider when they conduct their marketing strategies. Research indicates that minority groups find a marketing or advertising person from their society more trustworthy. Ethnic subculture affect political behavior; leisure activities; food/apparel preferences; type of media exposure; and the consumer’s willingness to purchase new products. For instance, in America, there are three main subcultures: Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, and African Americans. The largest of the three is Hispanic (12.5%). Some of the subcultures are associated with powerful stereotypes. Subgroups are usually believed to possess certain unique traits which can either be negative or positive. In the past, marketers employed this method to communicate attributes of products to consumers. There are certain brands which are strongly associated with subcultural and cultural classification. In order to adapt certain products or services to the needs of the consumer marketers should employ their marketing strategies in regard to the consumer’s expectations (McLeish 124). For example, the people of the West are commonly used to inviting their friends for dinner or lunch at their homes. In Japan things are quite different; to invite someone is not in line with their customs. Alcoholic drinks and beverages are some of the products which require the concept of subculture for successful marketing. Advertising has an important role in the purchase of a product or service. Advertising is mainly accomplished through mass media: films, radios, magazines, music, billboards, internet, newspaper, advertising and videos. Of all the strategies of marketing, advertising is one of the most effective means which has a lasting effect on the consumer’s mind. Advertising exposes the consumer to the product or service being offered for a prolonged time. It is a marketing strategy mix i.e. price, promotion, place, and product. As a strategy for promotion, advertising is a major tool for creating awareness of the product in the mind of the consumer and influences the eventual decision of the consumer in buying a service or product. Sales promotion, public relations, and advertising are effective tools of mass communication available for marketers. Through all possible mediums, advertising influences the decisions of consumers greatly.
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The power of a company’s logo and brand speaks more superbly than the skills of marketing. For instance, the strategy of a company in creating superior products upon popular athletes has inevitably transformed the pattern of sports marketing. Many companies today spend millions of dollars every year on splashy promotional events, big-name endorsements, and eye-catching ads (Chonko 341). Nevertheless, many companies have realized that effective marketing is more than promises and promotional hype, its means delivering real value, consistently, to customers or consumers. More than all functions of business, marketing is the part that deals directly with customers. At the center of modern marketing is creating customer satisfaction and value.
Marketing, essentially, is the satisfaction delivery to a customer at a profit.